Legends of Muirwood
Legends of Muirwood is a series of fantasy books by an American author of science fiction and fantasy books Jeff Wheeler. Wheeler took early retirement from Intel in 2014 so that he could focus on writing. Apart from Muirwood Trilogy, Wheeler is also the author of King fountain, Harbinger, Covenant of Muirwood and Whispers from Mirrowen series.

Jeff Wheeler began his Legends of Muirwood trilogy in 2011after the publication of The Wretched of Muirwood. The series concluded the same year with The Scourge of Muirwood.

Wretched of Muirwood

Wretched of Muirwood is the first book in a series that Jeff Wheeler self-published through Createspace after being rejected by several publishing houses. Kindle publishing has resulted in a new model that the giant e-commerce company Amazon has been trying for years. Authors can self-publish their work in Kindle format and get control of their books pricing, and Amazon tracks the sales and offers contracts to author’s whose books are doing well.

Jeff Wheeler’s debut novel is a story about a girl named Lia, a cook in the kitchen of Abbey. More than anything else in the world, Lia wishes that she could be one of the students at Abbey, but since she is an orphan she is not allowed to study. When Lia saves the life of a young man, Colvin, she accompanies him on a journey to meet a group of noblemen who are against the despotic king.

Along the way, Lia finds out that she possesses some magic skills and above all a destiny. For avid reads of epic fantasy who are looking for another story with the main character who starts off humbly but ends up as a warrior in a great supernatural battle of good versus evil, The Wretched of Muirwood is an ideal read.

It’s well written, has a beautiful setting and a well-paced story. The author has created a logical and viable system of magic, in fact, one of the unique magic systems you’ll ever read. The king is cruel and rules with absolute power and has turned to the medium to his villainous uses.

Then there is the king’s man, Sheriff Almaguer who hunts the “traitors” to the throne. Garen Demont is the leader of the rebellion who returns from exile with an army determined to get rid of the evil king.

One event leads to another which results to Lia stealing a valuable object from the Aldermaston. Additionally, Lia also helps Colvin escape but only run into a madman who claims that Lia must guide Colvin to Winterrowd. Through the crazed man, Colvin comes to learn that Dermont has only a fraction of the forces that the evil king has and has to get to Winterrowd in time to warn him.

The evil Sheriff uses an amulet to make the medium bend to his will and gets to know the real identities of Lia’s parents. Tormenting her and keeping the secret of which her birth parents were Almaguer tracks down Lia as much Colvin does. The Wretched of Muirwood is a compelling and a well-written series debut. Colvin, Lia and all the other supporting characters in the book are beautifully crafted. The story will immediately draw you in, keeping you turning pages eager to find out what will happen next. The story is characterized by a dark mood but also intense family love. Lia loves his adopted family and Colvin cares and loves his sister.

The Blight of Muirwood

In the second book in Legends of Muirwood, we meet Lia after she’s been promoted now serving as abbey’s hunter. Her main job now is to protect monastery and the people in it. However, her job as a hunter gets even hard but also satisfying when Colvin arrives with the princess of Pry-Ree, Ellowyn Demont.
Lia has to deal with jealousy as Ellowyn soon gets a chance to learn how to read and even gets closer to Colvin. Things get even harder when Queen Dowager arrives to find the cause of her husband’s death. She thinks that Aldermaston is the person responsible for the king’s death and intends on proving it.

Most threatening of all is Lia’s discovery of a blight that may devastate the entire land. The blight might take the form of plague, war, flood or drought. Lia also learns that throughout history, the Medium has always used blight as a way to cleanse the land from evil and it appears to Aldermaston that a blighted season is soon approaching.

The second in Legends of Muirwood series is a fast-paced action book just as the debut book, Wretched of Muirwood. With dangerous, deadly queen, perilous journey and dangerous wood, The Blight of Muirwood plot is full of twists & turns, and the adventurous part of the story becomes interesting halfway through the book. Avid readers of fantasy book will recognize some familiar patterns and symbols and some other unique elements too. Jeff Wheeler touches on some light themes about faith and religion, gender, forgiveness, economic stereotypes, and identity. While the book can be read as a standalone, better engagement and comprehension would come from reading the previous book in the series.

The Scourge of Muirwood

In the third and the final book in Legends of Muirwood trilogy, Lia has finally discovered her real identity, but she is unable to tell anyone since the Medium has bound the information. Only a handful of people know this and Colvin the man she truly loves isn’t one of them
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While Lia thinks genuinely about their relationship, she becomes the Medium too to save the entire world and hopes that everything turns out well in the end. Various chapters in the book are flashbacks which show the reader more about the Prince of PryRee who becomes aware that his daughter is the person to become the world’s savior.

Just like the previous book is an engaging read with a darker story that brings the Muirwood series to an end even though Jeff Wheeler leaves the story open for future stories. The author makes several allusions to Biblical people including Shadrach and his friends, Adam and Eve, the temptation of Jesus and Daniel.

Jack Reacher is back! Personally I thought this was the 2nd best Reacher book yet. The latest book in the Jack Reacher series, Past Tense, came out November 5th. Family secrets come back to haunt Reacher when he decides to visit the town his father was born in. Why? Because when he visits there he finds out no-one with the last name of Reacher has ever lived there. It leaves him wondering - did his father ever live there? More Details.

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Did You Know…

David Baldacci had been writing stories since he was a kid. He wrote many short stories for over 20 years while having a law career. He spent 3 years of his law career writing the novel Absolute Power which would become a best seller and a movie starring Clint Eastwood.